Slytherin Sisters
by Squirrel Patronus
Summary: Eileen and Severus Snape visit Eileen's old classmate and her family. Happy memories of the past bring forth some painful facts about the present. Sharp-eyed readers will recognize J.K. Rowlings' reason as to why dramatic events are not produced at Hogwarts. I added some details of my own! Eileen's friends and their families are my OCs.
The photograph of the four girls was faded and creased in the right corner. Eileen had blinked at the time the photo was taken and that was what she was staring at now, her dark eyes blinking while Pandora Lloyd-Jones surreptitiously made bunny ears behind her head. On the right Brunella MacInness smirked at the camera. Ethel Carrington took up the left panel of the frame, the one beauty amongst the three plain Janes. She laughed and waved, her coppery hair blowing in the breeze beneath the spidery script that Eileen had written in the top left corner: "Slytherin Sisters. Cornwall, 1954."

She had not looked at this photo in years. It had been tucked away in a shoebox on the top shelf of her closet along with some yellowed newspaper clippings. It was one of those things that she was aware of but had tucked away into the part of her mind with other memories that she wished to keep hidden. The invitation that had arrived by owl yesterday had made her go to the closet and seek out the box.

Ever since she had moved to Spinners' End the owls had come less frequently. It seemed that they had stopped coming all together; the last one had been five years ago. She was startled to see the Long-Eared owl tapping at the kitchen window, a small envelope clutched in its talons. Eileen let it in and gave it the last bit of her toast. She broke the wax seal on the envelope and began to read the letter.

Dear Eileen Princess,

It has been so long since we corresponded, not to mention seen each other. I was thinking of you the other day while I was shopping at Diagon Alley with Winifred, my older daughter. She just received her owl from Hogwarts last week! I am so proud of her! While we were at Flourish and Blotts I remembered how you and I would shop together for books and school supplies in the last summer weeks before school began. Such fun!

I would very much like to see you. Please let me know if you can join my daughters and me for tea this Saturday. Please bring your son, Severus. I look forward to meeting him!

Your Slytherin Sister,

Pandora Nott

Eileen read the letter several times before she wrote out a response and sent it back with the owl. When had she last seen Pandora? It was before she had married Tobias. Pandora had recently married-a family only ceremony at the Ministry of Magic. She had invited Eileen to her new home to meet her husband, Waldimar Nott. Eileen remembered him as a thin, ugly man who was much older than his wife. He had asked Eileen if she was a pure blood. When she had replied that she was, he asked her who her parents were. The meeting had been off-putting and awkward. Waldimar had sipped his tea and stared at Eileen with flat, expressionless eyes. Pandora had been nervous and agitated. Eileen later learned that Waldimar was a blood purist and supporter of Gellert Grindelwald. His younger brother was a sociologist who had written books arguing for muggles to be classified among the lesser species of beasts and advocating for magical folk to marry only their own kind.

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The two girls had met shortly after being sorted into Slytherin. Eileen had sat next to Pandora at the long Slytherin table, which seemed to be over-populated with loutish, noisy boys. Eileen liked the girl's name and quiet manners. Certainly a contrast to the other two Slytherin girls who were in their year.

A tall, thick-set girl with a loud voice was arguing with a second year boy on her left.

"I don't care if Newt Scamander calls it leavings in his book! Shit is shit! I don't understand why people have to make up nice little names for it! Call it what it is!"

The boy looked stunned to hear a girl talk that way and some of the older girls at the table paled. A pretty girl with wavy strawberry blonde hair laughed.

"Oh, Brunella, we've only just been sorted and you're already scandalizing yourself!" She turned and faced Eileen and Pandora. "I'm Ethel Carrington and that potty-mouthed girl is Brunella MacInness. Don't worry-her words are the most dangerous thing about her!"

"Words are important, Ethel! Water them down and they lose their power and meaning!" Brunella objected. She smirked at Eileen and Pandora.

Eileen laughed. She liked Brunella's forthrightness and Ethel was the prettiest girl she had ever seen. Four very different girls, but they had all become fast friends. Each was bright, ambitious and cunning in her own way. Slytherin Sisters. That is what Pandora had christened their little foursome that night as they sat on their beds, chatting about themselves, their families and the excitement of attending Hogwarts.

Eileen and Brunella both had older brothers, but Pandora and Ethel were only children. Pandora had grown up on the coast of Cornwall and described the seaside cottage that was her home. Brunella was from Scotland. Her father was a scholar of ancient runes and magical history. He had recently published a new translation ("Uncensored!") of the works of Beedle the Bard. Ethel was the only half-blood among them. Her mother was an actress on the London stage.

"You were raised as a muggle!" Eileen was fascinated. "What does your father do?"

"My parents are separated. I only see my father once a year. He's paying for my education." A fine line appeared in the middle of Ethel's forehead. "He married mum on the sly, made me on the fly, then it was good-bye."

"Well, it must have been a surprise for you when the owl arrived!" Eileen remarked, breaking the awkward silence.

"Oh, it was!" Ethel brightened as she amused her new friends with the story of the Hogwarts owl arriving at the theater where she was watching her mother rehearse.

"Muggle actors already are superstitious about "Macbeth"- they won't even refer to it by name! They call it "The Scottish Play." That owl really scared them to bits!" Ethel laughed as she described the pandemonium. The girls laughed with her.

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"Severus, stop lagging! Keep up with me!"

Eileen glared at her son who was shuffling behind her on the dusty road. His hands were jammed into his pockets and he was scowling in the bright sunshine. He had put up quite a fight about accompanying her to her friend's house.

"I don't want to go!"

"You're going. Pandora Nott is one of my oldest friends. She specifically requested that I bring you along."

"I didn't think that you had any friends," he said, dark eyes flashing. "I don't want to go! It will be a complete waste of a summer Saturday!"

"Oh, and what will you do here all alone on a Saturday? Annoy your father? Sit upstairs in your room and mope?" She had him there. He had no friends and his idle boredom during the summer when school was out was a big concern to Eileen. No telling what type of trouble he could get into.

"Pandora has two daughters. The younger one is your age."

"You didn't tell me that her children were girls! I'm definitely not going!" he cried.

He reluctantly cooperated after she had made several threats and followed through on them. He got the message, but was paying her back with one of his foul moods.

Eileen sighed. He was her son. Moody, sour and vindictive. He had sulked silently as she attempted to tie a muggle tie on him. She gave up and used her wand. She could not find a jacket that fit him, but the day was warm. She hoped that the patches on the elbows of his "best" shirt were not that noticeable. His shoes had caused their biggest argument that morning. He had wanted to wear trainers, but she had insisted on black oxfords. They were too tight on him and he was intentionally dragging his feet on the dusty road, doing his best to scuff them. His hair hung about his face in limp, greasy strands. Tobias had not paid the utility bills and there was no hot water in the house.

"This way, Severus!" Eileen saw the familiar copse of elm trees. To muggle eyes it was a thick, shady copse. To witches and wizards there was definitely a visible tunnel in the trees, leading up to a path.

"Look, there's the house! See, that wasn't such a long walk!"

Severus gaped at the house. It was three full stories, made of grey stone with a gabled roof. The diamond paned windows glittered in the sun. Ten stone steps led up to a large black door with a silver crescent moon knocker.

"How many people live in this house?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Nott and their two daughters. Come!"

Eileen walked up the steps and gave three sharp raps with the knocker. The door swung open and a pair of pale, bulbous eyes stared up at them.

"Gah! What the hell is that?" Severus shouted pointing at the house elf which stared balefully at them. Eileen silently cursed herself for not preparing him; she had completely forgotten that the Notts had a house elf.

"I'm Eileen Snape," she told the elf. "This is my son, Severus."

"Mistress and the young misses are expecting you. Follow me." The elf looked Eileen and Severus over, sniffed, and gestured them into the hallway. The interior of the house was dark and cool. The hallway had a marble floor and dark green wallpaper. Paintings of ancestors scoffed and whispered as Eileen and Severus followed the elf down a corridor. He opened a heavy wooden door and led them into a brightly lit room.

"Mrs. Snape and her son have arrived, Mistress."

"Thank you, Murk. You can bring in the tea." The elf gave a stiff bow and left the room, wrinkling his nose as he passed Eileen and Severus.

Pandora stood and held out her arms to Eileen.

"Eileen, Princess," she said softly as she hugged her friend. Eileen awkwardly hugged her back. She was not a physically affectionate person and was uncomfortable with these displays. Pandora must have sensed that, because she quickly released Eileen and turned to the two little girls at her side.

"These are my daughters, Winifred and Wendeline. We call them Winnie and Wendy."

The two girls made short, proper curtsies as she said their names. Winnie was eleven, Wendy was nine. They were not pretty girls. Both were skinny with light brown hair. Winnie's hair hung in two braids down her back. Her long, thin face was irritable. Wendy was curly haired and had a small gap between her two front teeth, like her mother. Her brown eyes twinkled and she stared at the Snapes with interest.

Eileen shook hands with the girls and turned to Severus.

"This is my son, Severus. He will be ten in January."

Severus stared at the Notts, but said nothing. Eileen felt her face grow warm and prodded her thumbnail into his back. He offered a limp hand to Pandora, who gently shook it.

"I am pleased to finally meet you, Severus. Your mother sent me a photo of you when you were a baby, but nothing more recent. You look like your Uncle Hieronymous!"

"Who?" Severus asked in surprise.

Pandora realized her mistake and turned to Eileen, ignoring Severus' question.

"I hope that the trip wasn't too strenuous, Eileen."

"Not at all. Thank you for telling me about the port key on the river bank." An old boot, barely visible amongst the rubble cluttering the banks of the river flowing through Cokeworth, had transported them to Pandora's village in a matter of minutes. It was convenient, but the experience had made Severus slightly nauseous.

Eileen glanced about the room. The walls were a beautiful pale blue and lace curtains hung in the windows. Paintings of the Cornish coast adorned the walls, as did shelves which held different types of seashells. There was an oil portrait of Pandora as a young girl in a seashell frame. She stood ankle deep in the surf, kicking up a spray of sea foam. Under a large glass bell a cluster of coral undulated, even though there was no water.

"Is that a nautilus shell?" Severus pointed to the large spiral on top of a curio cabinet. The shell disappeared and reappeared in Wendy's hands.

"Wendy! What did I tell you about handling that! It's fragile!"

"I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't mean toit just happened."

"That's all right, darling. No harm." Pandora smiled. "These occurrences have been happening more frequently. Wendy takes a liking to something and suddenly finds that she's in possession of it. I've been trying to teach her how to control her thoughts better."

"That happens to me, too." Severus said. He walked over to Wendy and ran his finger over the ridges of the nautilus.

"There are some other things in this cabinet which might interest you, Severus. Alohomora!" Pandora waved her wand in front of the curio cabinet. The doors opened up and the inner cabinets unfolded, revealing other drawers which contained various natural treasures behind glass. The children clustered around it.

"Is that the same curio cabinet from your parents' house?" Eileen stared at the display in stunned recognition.

"Yes. You remember it?"

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"Alohomora!" Llewellyn Lloyd-Jones waved his wand in front of the lacquered curio cabinet. The doors opened and a series of drawers sprang forth, opening to reveal various compartments under glass. Eileen stared at the specimens in wonder. There were dried flowers from the Amazon and Africa which she had only read about in her Herbology and Potions books. Hooves, feathers and antlers from rare magical beasts. Eggs from the Irish Phoenix and the Flooper. Gemstones which held powerful magic. All types of magical flora and fauna from around the world.

"My life's work, young ladies!" Mr. Lloyd-Jones was a magical naturalist. Pandora had invited her friends to her parents' home for the Easter holidays. Eileen loved the cottage. It was deceptively small from the outside, but the interior rooms were large and airy. Most of the rooms had been decorated in a spare but elegant fashion by Pandora's mother. By contrast her father's study was gloriously cluttered.

"You will find samples of plants and beasts from all seven continents, including Antarctica! Some of them were devilishly hard to come by"

"Don't bore them, Daddy!" Pandora cried.

"Stop it, Panda, this is fascinating! What in Merlin's name is that?" Eileen pointed to a large, curved object that looked like a dried out gourd.

"Ah, that is phallus unicornus," Mr. Lloyd-Jones replied. He was smiling broadly, enjoying some sort of private joke.

"Oh, unicorn penis!" Brunella exclaimed. Pandora gasped but her father laughed.

"I can see that you are your father's daughter! Can anyone tell me the magical properties of this part of the creature's anatomy?"

"It restores virility to elderly men and is used in potions to aid maladies of the loins," Eileen volunteered.

"Precisely! You know your potions well, Eileen!"

Eileen blushed with pride. She turned her attention back to the curio cabinet. How she would have loved to live in this house, with all of these magical ingredients. The potions she could brew!

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"How is your father?" Eileen inquired.

"Not well. He has been in St. Mungo's for a year now. His health deteriorated after Mother died. I would have kept him here, but Waldimar did not think that was a good idea. Ah, here's tea!"

The elf had brought in tea while they were admiring the curio cabinet. Severus stared wide-eyed at the pyramids of sandwiches and tea cakes. He had eaten charred toast and weak tea for breakfast. Tea at his house usually consisted of more weak tea and stale biscuits from the grocer's.

The fine white china had a pattern of intertwining green and silver leaves. This was Pandora's one nod to Slytherin. She was mortally afraid of snakes.

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"Why is our House symbol the serpent?" Pandora had complained. "I know that Salazar Slytherin was a parseltongue, but the eagle and the lion are so much nicer!"

"The serpent is the sign of wisdom!" Eileen countered. "Be ye therefore wise as serpents."

"I like the badger!" Ethel volunteered. "Badger was my favorite character in 'The Wind in the Willows.'"

"What's that?" Eileen asked.

"It's a wonderful book! My mother read it to me when I was little. You should read it, Eileen!"

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"Did you ever read "The Wind in the Willows" to your girls?" Eileen asked Pandora.

"I'm not familiar with that book. Is it any good?"

"I don't know," Eileen sighed. She had never gotten around to reading it.

"How do you like your tea, Severus?" Pandora asked him. "Cream and sugar?"

The silver sugar and creamer waddled over on their stumpy legs to Severus. The sugar bowl removed its cap and held out the tongs. Severus stared at it.

"It wants to know how many you want!" Wendy told him.

"Four please!"

"Severus!" Eileen was stunned. "That will make the tea much too sweet."

"Oh, Eileen, if he wants four, let him! I see that you like the sandwiches, Severus!"

Eileen looked at her son. He had simultaneously stuffed three cucumber sandwiches into his mouth and was grabbing a handful of petit fours. Wendy grinned. Winnie frowned in disgust.

Eileen bit her lip. She gave her son a swift kick under the table.

"What?" Severus glared at her, his lips covered with icing. Eileen raised her right eyebrow at him and turned to Winnie.

"I heard that you recently received your invitation to Hogwarts, Winnie."

"Yes!" Winnie preened, happy to be the focus of attention. "Mother and I bought all of my books and supplies last week. My wand is yew with a dragon heart string. I cannot wait to see Hogwarts! I hope that I am sorted into Slytherin!"

"If the Sorting Hat considers you worthy of Slytherin," Severus said coldly.

"Severus!"

"I'm sure that you will be sorted into Slytherin, darling," Pandora said. "The Hat usually sorts people into the same House as their other family members and your father and I were both in Slytherin. Although my father was in Ravenclaw." Pandora sipped her tea, her face blank, lost for a moment in her own thoughts.

"Speaking of sorting, I found this the other day." Eileen reached into her bag and pulled out the large envelope. She removed the photograph and handed it to Pandora.

"Your mother took this picture with my camera when we were at your house for the Easter holidays. Do you remember?"

Pandora stared at the photograph.

"Winnie, Wendy, take Severus to the Prewett's farm so that he can see the animals. "

Severus and Winnie grimaced. They certainly did not want to go, but it was an order, not a suggestion. Wendy was the only one who was enthusiastic.

"Come, Severus! Mrs. Prewett let me feed the baby lamb with a bottle the other day-maybe you can do the same! The old sow is wretched, but the piglets are very cute!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. Winnie followed, her face sour.

Pandora traced her finger over Eileen's script.

"Slytherin Sisters. I remember that week. What a glorious time we had! I had never been so happy!"

"Me too," Eileen said. "I don't think that I've been happy since that time."

She waited for Pandora to respond, but her friend said nothing as she continued to stare at the photograph. Her face was again blank, her thoughts unreadable. Had she ever been happy after that time? Had any of them considering what happened after graduation? Eileen slowly sipped her tea, watching her friend's face as the memories of a spring holiday week, long suppressed, flooded her mind.

Pandora lay the photograph down on the table. The four girls in the picture continued to wave and smile, happy to be young and carefree on a bright spring day. She looked up at Eileen.

"Do you still see Brunella?" Pandora inquired.

"I last saw her about seven years ago. She was travelling to North America to do research for a book on Native American sorcery. She's still there as far as I know."

"She certainly is leading an interesting life," Pandora commented.

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"Your father has had such an interesting career," Eileen told Pandora. The four girls were seated on the porch of the house. They were staring up at the evening sky, waiting for the stars to come out. Pandora had assured them that the skies were clearer and the constellations more beautiful when seen from the coast.

"Yes, he has. Daddy told me once that the worst thing that can happen to a person is to live an unfulfilled life."

"Well, I am certainly not going to waste my life," Brunella announced. "I am going to travel around the world. I want to learn all that there is to know about magic in other cultures. I feel so isolated here! There is a great big world out there, and the history of the magical world is certainly vaster than anything that old shroud Binns taught us!"

"I want to open an apothecary," Eileen said. "I've already mentioned the idea to my parents and they said that they would loan me the seed money. They told me that I would have to work at an established apothecary first to learn all of the practicalities of running a business, but that is fine. It would be wonderful to brew potions all day!"

"It will be an actor's life for me!"Ethel sang."I'll be attending the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts! I love the stage! It is the best feeling in the world when you bring down the house!"

"Bring down the house! You nearly burned down the Great Hall with your last performance!"Brunella exclaimed. "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" my arse! It was more like "The Raging Cauldron!" Poor Professor Beery! After he got caught in the cross-fire of those hexes you and Frances were firing at each other I'm not surprised he retired!"

"Well, I wasn't the one who performed the engorgement spell on the Ashwinder! Also, it wasn't my fault that Roderick thought that I was prettier than that Gryffindor cow!"Ethel retorted.

Eileen laughed along with the others. The first play to be performed at Hogwarts had also turned out to be the last one. An engorged Ashwinder had burst into flames, burning the set and causing panicked students to flee. The leading man had fallen in love with Ethel one hour before the performance, unceremoniously dumping his girlfriend, who had been the female lead. She had turned on Ethel as the fire spread through the Great Hall. The two girls had dueled fiercely, seriously injuring the hapless Professor Beery.

"So, what will you do after we graduate, Pandora?" Eileen asked after the giggles had subsided.

"Nothing that would seem very exciting to you," Pandora replied. "I would be perfectly happy as a wife and mother. I've always wanted to have a family. I hope that my children love the seaside as much as I do."

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"Do your daughters like the seaside?"Eileen asked Pandora.

"Oh, they love it! I take them to my parents' house every summer. You should see the collection of shells that Wendy has in her room."

"I saw Ethel in a play where she emerged from a shell," Eileen said. "Some muggle production about the birth of Venus. I think that I have the review here."

Eileen searched through the envelope and handed a tattered newspaper clipping to Pandora.

"I never understood why Ethel did not pursue a career in the wizard theater," Pandora remarked as she read the notice. "I saw her in several student productions when she was at W.A.D.A. She was brilliant."

"I know why," Eileen said dully. "She fell in love with a muggle."

"I heard that she married one," Pandora said softly. "We lost touch with each other after she started acting in the muggle world.I didn't hear anything about her again until, well..."

"Yes." Eileen set her tea down. She frowned as she twisted the plain gold band on her left hand.

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"Has that dreadful matchmaker paid a visit to you yet?" Pandora asked was too early and too cold to go swimming, but the girls had removed their stockings and were walking along the edge of the surf.

"Matchmaker? You're using one?" Ethel looked stunned. "I thought that arranged marriages were a thing of the past in the wizard world!"

"They are for the most part," Eileen replied. "It's really just a formality now for pure-blood families. They want to make sure that when purebloods marry each other there's no danger of inbreeding. The matchmaker comes to your house, speaks with you and your parents and asks you some questions. If she is satisfied that you meet the pure-blood requirements she adds you on her registry."

"Registry? How appalling! Imagine marrying someone you didn't know!" Ethel was defensive and sensitive about her half-blood status.

"Well, it can work!" Pandora interjected. "My parents had an arranged marriage and they ended up falling in love with each other!"

"They were lucky then!" Brunella snorted. "That old hag paid a visit to my house before asked me all sorts of annoying, personal questions. She kept calling me sweetheart. I couldn't stand it! I finally told her that I didn't like men. She looked at me all surprised and then started going on in that condescending tone of hers that there was a good man for every marriageable young girl and that I had nothing to be nervous or scared about. I told her I wasn't nervous or scared; I just was not interested in men and those dangly parts between their legs. I then told her that if there were any interesting, smart pure-blood women on the registry I wouldn't mind meeting them. You could have heard a grain of sand drop in that room!"

"You said that!" Eileen was torn between admiration and apprehension at her friend's pluck. "What did your parents say?"

"Well, Mum has known for a long time; she didn't say anything at all. Dad hugged me and said that he was relieved that he didn't have to pay for a big, over-blown wedding. Then he told the matchmaker to get out of his house and told her what she could do with her feckin' registry!" Brunella smiled triumphantly.

Eileen wished, not for the last time, that she had Brunella's nerve. The matchmaker was due for a visit to her house after graduation. The preservation of blood purity was tantamount to anything else in a marriage for her family, even love. Her parents' marriage was also arranged, but it was nothing at all like the one that Pandora's parents had.

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"Ethel married for love," Eileen said quietly. "She met her husband when she was acting in one of the plays that he had written. She became his muse."

"Is it worth it, Eileen? Marrying for love?" Pandora had a queer look on her face.

"Why would you think that I would know the answer to that, Pandora?"Eileen snapped. "It certainly didn't do Ethel any good in the end!"

Eileen withdrew the last newspaper clipping from the envelope.

"I don't know what you heard. I read this in the muggle newspaper."Eileen began to read the article out loud, although every word had been burned into her brain.

 **Scotland Yard Stumped by Mysterious Death**

By Brian Willoughby

The cause of death of a young couple found two weeks ago in their Kensington flat continues to evade investigators. Playwright Simon Levine, 27, and his wife, actress Ethel Carrington, 22, were found in the parlor by their landlord, Joseph Vickers. Detective Jeremy Cross has advised that there were no signs of breaking and entering. No valuables were missing and there were no signs of struggle. The bodies showed no signs of physical violence.

"It is a curious situation," Detective Cross said in an interview with this paper."The young woman was seated in a chair with a book in her lap. She was staring wide-eyed at the fireplace. Her husband was slumped against the wall opposite the fireplace. He had a pistol in his hand and one bullet was fired. We searched the flat but could not find the bullet. No signs of blood, either. In all of my years I have never seen such a strange case."

"It was as if their hearts had simply stopped beating," Detective Cross confirmed. "How and why? That is the mystery."

Friends and associates of the couple have stated that they were well-liked and did not have any known enemies ("Unless you count theater critics," says a friend who wishes to remain anonymous). Mr. Levine was one of the new young talents among London playwrights. His most recent works "Boticelli's Muse" and "Bewitched and Bedazzled" were well-received and had long runs. Both plays starred Miss Carrington, whom he recently married.

"She was a beautiful young lady," a shaken Joseph Vickers told this reporter. "Her husband adored her.I cannot believe that they are dead."

Anyone with information is asked to please contact Detective Jeremy Cross at Scotland Yard.

Eileen folded the article and looked at blood had drained from the woman's face.

"That is so terrible," Pandora whispered."The Prophet mentioned an untimely death in her obituary but no details."

"That is because the influence of the Death Eaters is everywhere!" Eileen said heatedly. "Ethel was a half-blood, but she was a Slytherin and the daughter of a prominent pure-blood. Marrying a muggle and leaving the magical world to pursue a profession in the muggle world was akin to treason in their eyes. She was murdered as an example!"

"I heard that her father was heartbroken. He set up a scholarship at W.A.D.A. in her name," Pandora said softly.

"A hell of a lot of good that will do! Keeping her name alive will not bring her back! If her father had shown as much love, care and attention towards her when she was alive this might not have happened!"

Eileen angrily brushed away the tears that had appeared in her eyes. Another life unfulfilled. Ethel's dream had been cut short by the _Avada Kedavra_ spell. Eileen's dream of the apothecary had been destroyed by her own poor choices. What about Pandora's dream? She had her children and her beautiful home, but was she happy?

"What happened to us, Pandora?"

Pandora did not reply. Eileen had noticed her friend going deep into her own thoughts more than once during their visit. What was she thinking? Eileen stared into her friend's eyes, using her long dormant _Legilimency_ skills.

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 _A man and a woman were standing on the cold, tiled floor of a bathroom. The man was naked from the waist up and was gripping the sink basin. He was tall, lean and grey. He was bleeding from a wound to his right shoulder. His face was contorted with pain and fury._

 _Pandora was waving her wand over the wound, murmuring a complex healing spell. The wound puckered and pulsated under the magic emanating from her wand. As if by a magical magnet, a hard metallic object emerged from the man's wound, falling into the sink with a sharp "clink." It was a bloody bullet._

 _The man slowly let go of the sink. He had a large tattoo on the inside of his left forearm, a serpent emerging from the mouth of a skull. In a flash he drew his wand, aiming it at Pandora. She gave a strangled cry as she crumbled to the floor._

 _"That hurt, you stupid, useless cow! Can't you even perform a simple healing spell?"_

 _"You will not speak of this to anyone! Crucio!"_

 _A red flash streamed out of his wand and hit her prostrate body. Pandora's mouth opened into a wide scream but no sound emerged. Waldimar gathered up his clothes and left his wife twitching feebly on the floor._

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"What are you doing?" Eileen snapped back to reality when she felt Pandora's mind pushing against had stayed too long in the woman's memory.

"What did you see?" Pandora's voice was low and angry, but her eyes were wide with fear.

"Pandora.."

"My husband has a very dangerous job! He works in the Department of Mysteries! I don't know how he got shot-I would never ask!"

"Pandora, please calm down!"

"How dare you! I invite you to my house and you only bring misery with you!" Pandora pointed to the scattered news articles. "Entering into my private thoughts! You might as well have undone my robe and stared at my naked body! I show you hospitality and this is how you repay my friendship?"

Eileen stood up and put her hand on the hilt of her wand. She knew what a woman was capable of in such an agitated state. A simple stunning spell would calm Pandora down and put them both out of harm's way.

She was interrupted by a high, keening wail that came from outdoors. Both women ran out of the room, out the front door, bounding down the flight of stone steps.

Winnie was sobbing. Her hair, face and clothes were coated in black, slimy mud and pig shit. Wendy anxiously followed behind, trying to soothe her older sister. Severus trailed at the end behind the two girls, arms crossed defensively over his chest. His tie was gone and his shirt tails flapped loose in the breeze. He was barefoot.

"He pushed me!" Winnie cried. "Severus pushed me into the pig sty!"

"I did not! Liar!"

"That's enough, Winifred. Stand still! _Aqua Eructo_!" A stream of water shot from the tip of Pandora's wand, drenching Winnie. She stood shivering in a puddle. The spell had removed the worst of the filth, but she was still in a state.

"Wendy, did Severus push your sister into the pig sty?" Pandora asked, staring steadily at her younger daughter.

"No. Well, he didn't push her. They were arguing. Then all of a sudden Winnie was floating in the air and "Splat!" Wendy clapped both of her hands together for effect.

"Tattler!" Severus shouted.

"Winnie, go in through the laundry. Give your clothes to Murk; he will be able to restore them. Go up into my bathroom and make sure that you use the shampoo and bath gel with peppermint essence. That should get rid of the stink." Pandora turned and faced Eileen and Severus. Her child's distress had brought her back to her former state of authoritative calm.

"It has been a long day for the children. I believe that they are all very tired. Good-bye, Severus. It was nice to meet you. Good-bye, Eileen." Pandora's voice was civil, but not friendly. She followed her daughters to the back of the house.

"Come, Severus. Let's see if we can catch the Knight Bus from the road." Eileen did not know where the portkey that would transfer them back to Cokeworth was located. She turned and walked down the lane, through the copse of trees to the dirt road. Severus followed her in sullen silence.

"Care to tell me what happened?" Eileen asked once they were seated. She had spent her last Knutes on bus fare.

"I put my tie on the goat. Wendy said that it looked better on him. I threw my shoes up into the apple tree."

"I'm not asking about your tie and shoes. What happened, Severus?"

"She made me do it!" Severus' lower lip jutted outward and his black eyes glittered. "Wendy and I were looking at the piglets and she was telling me all of the names that she had given to them. Then Winnie said wasn't it fitting that Wendy had given them all muggle names. She said that muggles weren't much better than pigs. She told me that her mother had sworn them to secrecy about our visit. Their father hates muggles. He says that they are filthy beasts. She said that because Dad is a muggle I'm a mongrel. Then she started laughing and said that I would never get sorted into Slytherin because I have too much dirty muggle blood in me!"

"I told her to shut up! I told her that I was magical. She just laughed and said in a snotty voice that the magic of half-bloods is weak and corrupt. That's when it happened. I just became really angry and my mind snapped at her and then she was face down in the pig sty." Severus closed his eyes and let out a long deep breath. He opened his eyes and looked up at Eileen.

"I'm sorry, Mam. I ruined your visit and made your friend angry with you."

"She was already upset with me, Severus," Eileen sighed.

"Did that photograph upset her, Mam?" Eileen realized with a start that she had left her photograph on Pandora's table. Well, what did it matter? She had not looked at it in years. She certainly did not want to see it again.

"No, Severus. The photograph was from a happy time. A time when all of us were happy."

"Then why did Mrs. Nott get so upset?" Severus asked, puzzled.

"Severus, sometimes when people are reminded of happier times, they realize how terrible and unhappy things are now."

"Things are terrible and unhappy in our house," he whispered. He looked tired. Maybe Pandora was right. Maybe it had been a long day for the children.

Severus leaned against his mother as the bus jostled and bumped along. She put her arm around him and gazed at his sleepy face.

"Get some will be a while before we reach home."

Eileen stared out of the window at the blue sky. It was as calm and blue as the beautiful sea on the Cornish coast. She suddenly recalled a song that Ethel had taught them that week. It was a bouncy, happy song and Ethel had sung it in her clear, strong voice as she danced a quick soft-shoe step.

Eileen began to sing the song in her weak, quavering voice. The words were the same, but the tune was different. In her slow, measured tones, it seemed strange and melancholy.

"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!

You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!

When each wave comes a-rolling in

We will duck or swim,

And we'll float and fool around the water.

Over and under, and then up for air,

Pa is rich, Ma is rich, so now what do we care?

I love to be beside your side, beside the sea,

Beside the seaside, by the beautiful sea!"

Eileen hugged her son closer. She closed her eyes and was again cavorting along the Cornish coast with her Slytherin Sisters.


End file.
